NYPD to join California search for woman who wrongly accused Black teen of taking phone at NYC hotel

SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) -- Officers from the NYPD will travel to California Wednesday in search of the woman seen on video wrongly accusing a 14-year-old Black teenager of taking her phone.

According to NYPD officials, two officers from the NYPD's Manhattan South detective bureau will be traveling across the country in search of Miya Ponsetto.

The trip comes as the Manhattan District Attorney's office considers criminal charges against Ponsetto.

Ponsetto is the woman seen in the December 26 video, wrongly accusing 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. of stealing her phone and then assaulting the teen.

Over the weekend, civil rights activists gathered outside LAPD North Hollywood Police Station to call for her arrest.

Activists in Los Angeles say Ponsetto lives in the state and they want police in California to take her into custody.

The encounter with Harrold Jr. and his father at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo went viral. It turns out Ponsetto had left her phone in an Uber.

Watch the video that was posted on social media below:

Keyon Harrold, a jazz musician, says a woman falsely accused his son, who is Black, of stealing her iPhone in a New York City hotel.

She also went after both the teen and his father, Grammy-winning musician Keyon Harrold, who was recording the incident.

The video shows Ponsetto falsely accusing the teen of stealing her phone and then lunging at him and his father while trying to grab his phone. Keyon Harrold Sr. says she scratched him as he tried to protect his son.

RELATED | Black teen accused of stealing phone in viral incident at NYC hotel says he's shell shocked

"This could have gone very wrongly if I had come down after my son," he said. "The idea of trauma goes above any charge that we may have...I bring my son places where he shouldn't have to deal with injustices and shouldn't have to be profiled."

The NYPD says it is considering charges against Ponsetto, ranging from assault to attempted robbery.

Watch: The Harrold family talks to 'GMA':

Keyon Harrold and his son -- along with mother Kat Harrold and attorney Ben Crump -- speak out after they say a woman attacked the Black 14-year-old, accusing him of stealing her phone.

----------

* Get Eyewitness News Delivered

* More Manhattan news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a News Tip